Metal railroad-tie.



Patented Dec. 4. |900.

J. VLACUUPER.

METAL RAILROAD TIE.l

(Application filed Apr? 12, 1900.)

(Nb lodel.)

@Muna NrTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. COOPER, OE PARK RIDGE, NE, JERSEY.

M ETAL RAILROAD-TIE.

SECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 663,157, dated December 4, 1900,

Application filed April 12, 1900. Serial No. 12,610. (No modelh struction, and most particularly to the tiesL and the means for securing the rails thereto to allow for variable gage. The ties are metallic, and combined therewith are chairs having` diagonally-disposed lugs to engage over` opposite sides of the foot of the rail by a swinging movement about a pivotal connection with the tie. Other fastenings secure the chairs when properly positioned and prevent casual displacement thereof in any direction.

The invention also consists of the novel features, details of construction, and combination of the parts, which hereinafter will be more fully disclosed and nally claimed, and for this purpose and also to acquire a knowledge of the merits of the invention and the structural details of the means whereby the results are attained reference is to be had to the following" description and the drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are necessarily susceptible of modication, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Eigure l is a perspective view of a tie and the parts cooperating therewith constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of this invention, the chairs and fasten-` ings being separated and disposed in about the relation which they will occupy when as` sembled. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the tie, showing the parts assembled and the rails in position, the intermediate portion of the tie being broken away. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tie, having an intermediate portion broken away and showing one chair in position to receive the rail. Fig. ft isa detail view of a modified form of chair.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The tie lis preferably of trough form in cross-section, and its top portion has longitudinal slots 2 and 3 near its opposite ends, the slot 2 being longer than the slot 3. Each of the slots 2 and 3 is enlarged at one end, as shown at 4L, to receive the heads 5 of bolts or fastenings 6 and washers 7 cooperating therewith. The ties may be cast, stamped, or rolled, and by constructing them in the form of a trough or channehiron they are best adapted to receive the ballast and are prevented from lateral and longitudinal displacement in the road-bed. An opening S is formed in the end portion of the tie adjacent to the Vslot 3 to receive the pivot-fastening 9 by means of which the chair is pivotally attached to the tie.

The chairs 10, cooperating with the ties, are of oblong formation and are provided about centrally with an opening 11 to receive the pivot-fastening and at diagonally opposite points with integral lugs l2, which are adapted to engage over the foot ofthe rail 13 upon opposite sides of the web. An open-ended slot 14 is provided at one end of each chair to receive the fastening by means of which the chairs are made fast when properly positioned. The chairs may have a pivotal and a sliding connection with the tie, but in the preferable construction it is found advantageous to have one of the chairs only slidably connected with the tic, the other being pivotally attached thereto and fixed with reference to any longitudinal movement. The inner edges of the lugs 12 are inclined, as shown at 15, to provide ampleclearance for the base portion of the rail when the chair is turned, as shown most clearly at the right hand of Fig. 3. The pivot-fastenings 9 for connecting the chairs to the tie maybe of any formation, and their upper portions are countersunk in the chair, so as not to project beyond the top side thereot` or interfere with the firm seating of the-rails. The chair having pivotal connection only with the tie is secured lto the latter prior to placing the tie in position. This is rendered necessary because of the single opening 8, through which the pivot-fastening is to be thrust. The other chair can be secured to the tie at time, because the pivot-fastening is vinsertible through the enlarged end 4 of the slot 2, and can loe slipped along the latter to the required positio Y In constructing a railroad in accordance with the invention the ties are alternately positioned, so that the pivotal chairs are at opposite ends of adjacent ties, and the pivotal and slidable chairs are at the ends of the ties intermediate adjacent pivotal chairs. By having one of the chairs slidable and pivotalljT connected With the tie it can be moved in or out to vary the gage, which is essential in the formation of curves. The chair Ahaving pivotal connection with the tie only is secured against longitudinal displacement, and in order to prevent the slidable and pivotal chair from moving lengthwise of the tie When properly adjusted, the opposing or meeting faces of the chair and tie are roughened or toothed, so as to provide positive interlocking means. As shown, corrugations or teeth 16 are formed at the sides of the slot 2 and are adapted to cooperate with corresponding teeth 17 upon the bottom side of the chair. After the chairs have been secured to the ties by means of the pivotal connections 9 the said chairs are turned to the position about as shown in Fig. 3, so as to receive the base portion of the rail between the lugs 12, after which the chairs are turned so as to parallel the tie and bring the slots 14 therein in register with the slots of the tie. The turning of) the chairs causes the diagonally-disposed lugs 12 to engage over opposite portions of the base of the rails. The fastenings 6 are now adjusted so as to enter the registering,r slots of the tie and chairs and are tightened to fix 'the position of the latter.

While it is preferred to form the lugs 12 at the edges of the chairs, it is likewise contemplated to locate them a distance from the said edges, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. The lugs are cut from the body of the chairs and are pressed in the plane thereof and are shaped so as to conform to the base portion of the rails with which they are designed to cooperate.

It is to be understood that the provision of the teeth or corrngations 16 and 17 is not essential and may be dispensed with to simplify and cheapen the construction, as the sliding chairs cannot slip when the ties are placed with the pivotal chairs alternating with the' pivotal and slidable chairs. When the ties are placed With the pivotal chairs at the same side of the road-bed, it is preferable to have sesam recourse to the teeth or corrugations 16 and 17 to prevent any possible slipping of the slidable chairs.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is- 1. In combination Witha railway-tie having a longitudinal slot, a chair having pivotal connection with the tie and provided at diagonally opposite points with lugs to engage over the base portion of the rail and formed with a slot to come opposite the slot in the tie, anda fastening slidable in the slots of the chair and tie and adapted to secure the chair when properly positioned, substantially as set forth.

2. A railway-tie having a longitudinal slot' enlarged in its length, a chair provided withV an open-ended slot and having lugs disposed at diagonally opposite points, a pivot-fastening applied to the said chair and adapted to pass through the enlarged portion of the slot of the tie and enter the reduced portion of said slot, and a second fastening to cooperate with the slots of the chair and tie to secure the former in position and adapted to have its head passed through the enlarged portion of the slot in the tie, 'substantially as set forth.

3. A railway-tie provided Witha longitudinal slot having a portion enlarged, a chair having diagonally-disposedlugs and an openended slot, cooperating corrugations or teeth upon the meeting faces of the tie and chair, a pivot-fastening applied to the chair and adapted to pass through the enlarged portion of the slot Vin the tie and enter the narrow portion of said slot, and a second fastening cooperating with the slots of the chair and tie to secure said chair in place, substantially as set forth.

4. A metallic railway-tie having` longitudinal slots of different lengths in its end portions and a pivot-opening in the end having the shorter slot, chairs having diagonally disposed lugs and open-ended slots, means for pivotally connecting one of the chairs to the end portion of the tie having the pivot-opening,.a pivot-fastening applied to the other chair and slidable in the longer slot of the tie,

and fastenings movable in the slots of the tie and chairs, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. COOPER.

[ns] s IOO 

